Editing Alfred Deller

{{Short description|English countertenor}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox person
|name             = Alfred Deller
|honorific_suffix = [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire|CBE]]
|image            =
|alt              = 
|caption          = 
|birth_date       = {{Birth date|df=yes|1912|05|31}}<ref name="kentnews-22jun2012">{{cite news|url=http://www.kentnews.co.uk/news/stour_music_festival_celebrates_alfred_deller_s_100th_birthday_1_1416884|title=Stour Music Festival celebrates Alfred Deller's 100th birthday|publisher=[[KOS Media]]|author=Chrissie Daniels|date=22 June 2012|access-date=8 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304190607/http://www.kentnews.co.uk/news/stour_music_festival_celebrates_alfred_deller_s_100th_birthday_1_1416884|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
|birth_place      = [[Margate]], Kent, England<ref name="kentnews-22jun2012"/>
|birth_name       = Alfred George Deller
|death_date       = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1979|07|16|1912|05|31}}<ref name="kentnews-22jun2012"/>
|death_place      = [[Bologna]], Italy
|resting_place    = [[All Saints' Church, Boughton Aluph|All Saints' Church]], Boughton Aluph, Kent, England
|other_names      = 
|occupation       = [[Countertenor]]
|years_active     = 1940–1979
|signature        = 
}}

[[File:Alfred Deller grave All Saints’ Church, Boughton Aluph.JPG|thumb|Alfred Deller's grave at [[All Saints' Church, Boughton Aluph]]]]
'''Alfred George Deller''', [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire|CBE]] (31 May 1912 – 16 July 1979), was an English singer and one of the main figures in popularising the return of the [[countertenor]] voice in [[renaissance music|Renaissance]] and [[Baroque music]] during the 20th century.

He is sometimes referred to as the "godfather of the countertenor".<ref name="kentnews-22jun2012"/> His style in singing [[lute song]], with extensive use of [[rubato]] and extemporised ornamentation, was seen as radical and controversial in his day but is now considered the norm.

Deller was an influential figure in the renaissance of [[early music]]: an early proponent of "original instrument performance" and one of the first to bring this form to the popular consciousness through his broadcasts on the [[BBC]]. He also founded the [[Stour Music Festival]] in 1962,<ref name="kentnews-22jun2012"/> one of the first and most important early music festivals in the world.

==Life and career==
===Church music===
Deller was born in [[Margate]], a seaside resort in [[Kent]]. As a boy, he sang in his local church choir. When his voice broke, he continued singing in his high register, eventually settling as a [[countertenor]].<ref name="Giles and Steane">Giles and Steane</ref> Deller was initially employed as a [[lay clerk]] at [[Canterbury Cathedral]] from 1940 to 1947, before joining the choir of [[St Paul's Cathedral]] (1947–62).

===Solo career===
From this choral tradition, Deller emerged as a soloist, largely as a result of the admiration of the composer [[Michael Tippett]], who heard him while at Canterbury and recognised the unique beauty of his voice. Tippett introduced him to the public as a countertenor, rather than a male [[alto]]. He also became better known with a radio broadcast of [[Henry Purcell]]'s ''[[Come Ye Sons of Art]]'' on the [[BBC Third Programme]] when this station was launched in 1946. He concentrated on popularising and recording the music of English Baroque and Renaissance music by composers such as [[John Dowland]] and Purcell.<ref name="Steane">Steane</ref>

===Style===
Throughout the 19th century, it was only in the tradition of all-male cathedral choirs that the countertenor voice had survived.<ref name="Giles and Steane"/> Deller's voice sounded remarkably high. Misconceptions about the countertenor voice were common at the time Deller was first gaining significant notice as a singer, which was only a matter of decades after the last [[castrato]] had died; [[Michael Chance]] tells the story that once, a French woman, upon hearing Deller sing, exclaimed "Monsieur, vous êtes eunuque"—to which Deller replied, "I think you mean 'unique', Madam."<ref>Michael Chance interviewed in a documentary entitled 'Countertenors,' originally shown on ''[[The South Bank Show]]''.</ref>

===Deller Consort===
In 1948, Deller formed the Deller Consort,<ref name="kentnews-22jun2012"/> a group dedicated to [[historically informed performance]]. The group recorded music from as early as the 13th century and significantly expanded popular notions of the Baroque repertoire, producing high-quality authentic period performances of the works of [[Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach]], [[George Frideric Handel|Handel]], Purcell, Dowland, and even folk songs.

Membership of the Deller Consort changed over the years, particularly the top line (sopranos [[April Cantelo]], [[Honor Sheppard]] and [[Mary Thomas (soprano)|Mary Thomas]]). It included various baritones (especially [[Maurice Bevan]]) and tenors (especially Philip Todd). From 1964, Alfred Deller's son [[Mark Deller|Mark]] was a member.<ref name="Bach-Cantatas">{{cite web | url=http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Deller-Alfred.htm | title=Alfred Deller | access-date=18 August 2013}}</ref> In 1972, the Deller Consort performed for the [[Peabody Mason Concert]] series in Boston.<ref>''Boston Herald'', 3 November 1972, David Noble, "16th century music approachable"</ref>

Despite his experience directing the consort, Deller's conducting of chamber orchestras attracted some adverse comment regarding technique.<ref name="gramo">{{Cite journal |title=Purcell Odes |url=https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/purcell-odes |journal=Gramophone |access-date=2017-11-20}}</ref>

===Collaborations===
In 1960, Deller sang the role of Oberon in the first production of [[Benjamin Britten]]'s opera ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream (opera)|A Midsummer Night's Dream]]''.<ref name="kentnews-22jun2012"/> Britten wrote this role with Deller specifically in mind, although he was dropped from staged revivals of the work against the composer's wishes, largely because of poor acting technique. The smallness of his voice was also a negative factor in the casting process at Covent Garden.<ref name="Steane"/> He did record the opera, with the composer conducting in 1967. The 1960 premiere, broadcast by the BBC, is now commercially available and finds Deller in fresher voice; [[Myfanwy Piper]] described his singing of Oberon as "unearthly".

Lutenist [[Desmond Dupré]] performed with him, initially as a guitarist; other accompanists included harpsichordist and musicologist [[Walter Bergmann (musician)|Walter Bergmann]]. In later years, he worked with lutenist [[Robert Spencer (lutenist)|Robert Spencer]] and harpsichordists [[Harold Lester (musician)|Harold Lester]] and [[William Christie (musician)|William Christie]]. His recordings include the lute songs of Dowland, operas by Handel, Britten's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', songs and semioperas by Purcell (such as ''[[The Fairy-Queen|The Fairy Queen]]''), traditional English folk songs, works by [[Thomas Tallis]], and the Bach alto repertoire. He recorded for [[His Master's Voice (British record label)|His Master's Voice]], [[Vanguard Records|Vanguard]] Classics, and [[Harmonia Mundi]].

Deller also sang [[John Blow]] and Henry Purcell Odes like "Sound the trumpet" from [[Come Ye Sons of Art]] with the other great counter-tenor of the day, [[John Anthony Whitworth|John Whitworth]] (1921–2013), who is favoured by critic Richard Lawrence for his magnificent voice.<ref>[https://www.gramophone.co.uk/classical-music-news/obituary-john-whitworth-countertenor Charlotte Smith: ''Obituary: John Whitworth, countertenor''.] Gramophone, 5th Sep 2013</ref>

===Death===
On 16 July 1979, Deller died after a [[heart attack]] suffered whilst working in [[Bologna]] in Italy. Deller and his wife are buried in the churchyard of [[All Saints' Church, Boughton Aluph]], Kent.

==Family==
Deller married Kathleen Margaret ('Peggy') Lowe (1913–2006) in 1937.<ref name=Heritage>{{Cite web |url=https://www.myheritage.com/names/alfred_deller |title=Alfred Deller - Historical records and family trees - MyHeritage |access-date=26 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130003116/https://www.myheritage.com/names/alfred_deller |archive-date=30 January 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref> They had three children; the eldest, [[Mark Deller]], became an accomplished singer in his own right and frequently performed with his father, for example on the 1972 album ''[[Folksongs (Alfred Deller album)|Folksongs]]''. Another son, Simon, trained as a music teacher during the 1960s and taught at Guildford Cathedral choir school, eventually becoming its headmaster.

==Honours==
Deller was appointed [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] in the [[1970 New Year Honours]].

In [[Canterbury Cathedral]], a tablet in the south quire aisle commemorates Deller and his work.

On 31 May 2012, [[All Saints' Church, Boughton Aluph]] held a concert to celebrate Deller's 100th birthday. There was also an exhibition of paintings and drawings by John Ward, who illustrated many of the early programmes for the music festival.<ref name="kentnews-22jun2012"/> After the concert, the countertenor [[James Bowman (countertenor)|James Bowman]] planted a tree in memory of Deller in the churchyard where he is buried.

==Selected discography==
Deller made at least 136 recordings from 1949 to his death in 1979.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.medieval.org/emfaq/performers/deller.html |title=EMFAQ |access-date=27 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111203113559/http://www.medieval.org/emfaq/performers/deller.html |archive-date=3 December 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> His first were for His Master's Voice (1949–1954). Then followed 13 years with [[Vanguard Records]] (1954–1967), under the labels The Bach Guild in Europe and Amadeo in the US. Then following a concert in Avignon in 1967 where Deller met [[Bernard Coutaz]], founder of [http://www.harmoniamundi.com/#!/search/k=deller Harmonia Mundi France], Deller spent his remaining years with the French label.
*[[Shakespeare Songs (Alfred Deller album)|''Shakespeare Songs'']] 1967
*[[Folksongs (Alfred Deller album)|''Folksongs'']] 1972
*[[John Dowland]] ''Lute Songs'' (with Robert Spencer, lute & The Consort of Six), Harmonia Mundi, 1978, re-released June 2012, hmGold HMG50244.45

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*[[J.B. Steane]]: "Deller, Alfred," ''Grove Music Online'' ed L. Macy (Accessed 6 February 2007), [http://www.grovemusic.com/ grovemusic.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516041031/http://www.grovemusic.com/ |date=16 May 2008 }}, subscription access.
*Peter Giles and J.B. Steane: "Countertenor," ''[[Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians|Grove Music Online]]'', ed. L. Macy (accessed 6 February 2007), [http://www.grovemusic.com/ grovemusic.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516041031/http://www.grovemusic.com/ |date=16 May 2008 }} (subscription access).
*[[Michael Hardwick|Michael & Mollie Hardwick]]: ''Alfred Deller: A Singularity of Voice'' (Littlehampton, 1968).

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20111203113559/http://www.medieval.org/emfaq/performers/deller.html Alfred Deller (1912–1979) – A discography (Early Music FAQ)]
*'Recording' with Alfred Deller; Michael Powell @ www.phoenixlodger.co.uk
* {{Discogs artist|Alfred Deller}}
* {{IMDb name|id=1158776}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deller, Alfred}}
[[Category:1912 births]]
[[Category:1979 deaths]]
[[Category:Burials in Kent]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Operatic countertenors]]
[[Category:Entertainers from Margate]]
[[Category:English performers of early music]]
[[Category:Musicians from Kent]]
[[Category:20th-century English male opera singers]]
[[Category:Harmonia Mundi artists]]